Tag Archives: RSA

Linux

Can't login to server with ssh

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By bitlord

Hello,
I’m having an issue logging into one of my SLES 11 servers. It doen’t ask for my password and will not take my key.

Code:
bitlord@SLES11
< ssh -v bitlord@calliope
Sun_SSH_1.1.4, SSH protocols 1.5/2.0, OpenSSL 0x0090704f
debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config
debug1: Rhosts Authentication disabled, originating port will not be trusted.
debug1: ssh_connect: needpriv 0
debug1: Connecting to calliope [X.X.X.56] port 22.
debug1: Connection established.
debug1: identity file /home/bitlord/.ssh/identity type -1
debug1: identity file /home/bitlord/.ssh/id_rsa type 1
debug1: identity file /home/bitlord/.ssh/id_dsa type -1
debug1: Logging to host: SLES
debug1: Local user: bitlord Remote user: bitlord
debug1: Remote protocol version 2.0, remote software version OpenSSH_5.1
debug1: match: OpenSSH_5.1 pat OpenSSH*
debug1: Enabling compatibility mode for protocol 2.0
debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-Sun_SSH_1.1.4
debug1: use_engine is 'yes'
debug1: pkcs11 engine initialized, now setting it as default for RSA, DSA, and symmetric ciphers
debug1: pkcs11 engine initialization complete
debug1: Failed to acquire GSS-API credentials for any mechanisms (No credentials were supplied, or the credentials were unavailable or inaccessible
Unknown code 0
)
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT sent
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT received
debug1: kex: server->client aes128-ctr hmac-sha1 none
debug1: kex: client->server aes128-ctr hmac-sha1 none
debug1: Peer sent proposed langtags, ctos:
debug1: Peer sent proposed langtags, stoc:
debug1: We proposed langtags, ctos: en-US
debug1: We proposed langtags, stoc: en-US
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REQUEST sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_GROUP
debug1: dh_gen_key: priv key bits set: 165/320
debug1: bits set: 1020/2048
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_INIT sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REPLY
debug1: Host 'SLES' is known and matches the RSA host key.
debug1: Found key in /home/bitlord/.ssh/known_hosts:84
debug1: bits set: 1109/2048
debug1: ssh_rsa_verify: signature correct
debug1: newkeys: mode 1
debug1: set_newkeys: setting new keys for 'out' mode
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS
debug1: newkeys: mode 0
debug1: set_newkeys: setting new keys for 'in' mode
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS received
debug1: done: ssh_kex2.
debug1: send SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_REQUEST
debug1: got SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_ACCEPT
<>
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey,keyboard-interactive
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Offering agent key: /home/bitlord/.ssh/id_rsa
debug1: Server accepts key: pkalg ssh-rsa blen 149 lastkey 76f18 hint -1
Connection closed by XX.XX.XX.56
debug1: Calling cleanup 0x34d88(0x0)

Does anyone have any ideas?

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at The UNIX and Linux Forums

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

3 Blue Chip Bargains: Royal Dutch Shell, GKN, and RSA Insurance Group

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By David O’Hara, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON —

Royal Dutch Shell
Shares in super-major Royal Dutch Shell  are down 1.4% so far this year. The shares have actually declined 5.4% in the last month alone.

In the last month, oil prices have fallen almost 5%. There are three reasons for this, all related to demand for the product.

First, the shale gas boom in the U.S. has delivered a plentiful alternative source of energy. Second, fears of global economic stagnation have inspired futures traders to start selling oil contracts. Third, a report last week confirmed that U.S. oil inventories reached highs not seen in over 20 years.

Analysts expect that Shell will pay $1.84 in dividends for 2013 and make $4.14 per share of profits. That’s a prospective yield of 5.7% and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 7.9.

GKN
Shares in GKN  have lost 10.4% in the last month. As things stand today, GKN is trading on a historic P/E of 8.1, with a forecast dividend of 3.2%.

As a big supplier of automotive parts and engineering services, GKN‘s fortunes are linked to the notoriously cyclical automotive industry. Cyclical stocks have less earnings visibility than most. The result is that they usually trade at a discount to the market.

As more people move into car ownership in countries such as India and China, any industry downturn will likely be less severe than has been suffered in the past. I would be a buyer of GKN today if the yield was higher.

RSA Insurance
Shares in RSA Insurance  have not been as low as this since November 2012. Since the company announced a dividend cut with its final results, investors have lost 30% of the market value of their holding.

Though recent times have been rough for RSA shareholders, the current share price looks attractive for new entrants.

The fact that RSA has already cut its dividend makes another cut less likely in the short term. I estimate that the payout for 2013 will be around 6.2 pence per share. That’s a yield of around 5.6% at today’s price. Analysts expect 12.4 pence per share of profits for the year, putting the shares on a P/E of 8.8 times forecasts.

Though RSA now offers a large, well-protected yield, our analysts here at the The Motley Fool believe that they have found an even better dividend share for 2013. To help you benefit from their detailed analysis, they have prepared a special free report “The Motley Fool’s Top Income Share for 2013.” To get the lowdown on this opportunity, click here and get your totally free copy of the report today.

link

The article 3 Blue Chip Bargains: Royal Dutch Shell, GKN, and RSA Insurance Group originally appeared on Fool.com.


David O’Hara does not own shares in any of the above companies. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Linux

Problem using scp to transfer a file

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By jyoung

I am testing the following command to transfer a file from my server (AIX 5.2) to another server. I was able to generate the keys and sent them the public key.

Code:
scp -v -P 4030 /home/lawson/.ssh/jimtest.txt someuser@some.ftpsite.net:/Inbound/jimtest.txt > jimtest_out.txt 2>&1

Based on the output from the command it looks like it is authenticating correctly, but the file is not getting sent or they tell me they are not getting it. Can you take a look at the above command and let me know if it is not correct. I am currently doing this from the command line, but will script it when I get it working. Below is output from the comman execution.

Code:
Executing: program /usr/local/bin/ssh host some.ftpsite.net, user someuser, command scp -v -t /Inbound/jimtest.txt
OpenSSH_3.8p1, SSH protocols 1.5/2.0, OpenSSL 0.9.6l 04 Nov 2003
debug1: Reading configuration data /usr/local/etc/ssh_config
debug1: Connecting to some.ftpsite.net [0.0.0.0] port 4030.
debug1: Connection established.
debug1: identity file /home/lawson/.ssh/identity type -1
debug1: identity file /home/lawson/.ssh/id_rsa type 1
debug1: identity file /home/lawson/.ssh/id_dsa type -1
debug1: Remote protocol version 2.0, remote software version Maverick_SSHD
debug1: no match: Maverick_SSHD
debug1: Enabling compatibility mode for protocol 2.0
debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_3.8p1
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT sent
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT received
debug1: kex: server->client aes128-cbc hmac-md5 none
debug1: kex: client->server aes128-cbc hmac-md5 none
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REQUEST(1024<1024<8192) sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_GROUP
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_INIT sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REPLY
debug1: Host 'some.ftpsite.net' is known and matches the RSA host key.
debug1: Found key in /home/lawson/.ssh/known_hosts:2
debug1: ssh_rsa_verify: signature correct
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS received
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_REQUEST sent
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_ACCEPT received
Welcome to the Gateway Interchange SSH server.
debug1: Authentications that can continue: password,publickey,keyboard-interactive
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Trying private key: /home/lawson/.ssh/identity
debug1: Offering public key: /home/lawson/.ssh/id_rsa
debug1: Server accepts key: pkalg ssh-rsa blen 149
debug1: read PEM private key done: type RSA
debug1: Authentication succeeded (publickey).
debug1: channel 0: new [client-session]
debug1: Entering interactive session.
debug1: Sending command: scp -v -t /Inbound/jimtest.txt
debug1: channel 0: free: client-session, nchannels 1
debug1: fd 0 clearing O_NONBLOCK
debug1: fd 1 clearing O_NONBLOCK
debug1: fd 2 clearing O_NONBLOCK
debug1: Transferred: stdin 0, stdout 0, stderr 0 bytes in 0.1 seconds
debug1: Bytes per second: stdin 0.0, stdout 0.0, stderr 0.0
debug1: Exit status -1
lost connection

Any thoughts. I want to determine if the problem is on my side or theirs. Thank you.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The UNIX and Linux Forums

Linux

[SOLVED] Problem using scp to transfer a file

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By jyoung

I am testing the following command to transfer a file from my server (AIX 5.2) to another server. I was able to generate the keys and sent them the public key.

Code:
scp -v -P 4030 /home/lawson/.ssh/jimtest.txt someuser@some.ftpsite.net:/Inbound/jimtest.txt > jimtest_out.txt 2>&1

Based on the output from the command it looks like it is authenticating correctly, but the file is not getting sent or they tell me they are not getting it. Can you take a look at the above command and let me know if it is not correct. I am currently doing this from the command line, but will script it when I get it working. Below is output from the comman execution.

Code:
Executing: program /usr/local/bin/ssh host some.ftpsite.net, user someuser, command scp -v -t /Inbound/jimtest.txt
OpenSSH_3.8p1, SSH protocols 1.5/2.0, OpenSSL 0.9.6l 04 Nov 2003
debug1: Reading configuration data /usr/local/etc/ssh_config
debug1: Connecting to some.ftpsite.net [0.0.0.0] port 4030.
debug1: Connection established.
debug1: identity file /home/lawson/.ssh/identity type -1
debug1: identity file /home/lawson/.ssh/id_rsa type 1
debug1: identity file /home/lawson/.ssh/id_dsa type -1
debug1: Remote protocol version 2.0, remote software version Maverick_SSHD
debug1: no match: Maverick_SSHD
debug1: Enabling compatibility mode for protocol 2.0
debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_3.8p1
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT sent
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT received
debug1: kex: server->client aes128-cbc hmac-md5 none
debug1: kex: client->server aes128-cbc hmac-md5 none
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REQUEST(1024<1024<8192) sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_GROUP
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_INIT sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_DH_GEX_REPLY
debug1: Host 'some.ftpsite.net' is known and matches the RSA host key.
debug1: Found key in /home/lawson/.ssh/known_hosts:2
debug1: ssh_rsa_verify: signature correct
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS received
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_REQUEST sent
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_ACCEPT received
Welcome to the Gateway Interchange SSH server.
debug1: Authentications that can continue: password,publickey,keyboard-interactive
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Trying private key: /home/lawson/.ssh/identity
debug1: Offering public key: /home/lawson/.ssh/id_rsa
debug1: Server accepts key: pkalg ssh-rsa blen 149
debug1: read PEM private key done: type RSA
debug1: Authentication succeeded (publickey).
debug1: channel 0: new [client-session]
debug1: Entering interactive session.
debug1: Sending command: scp -v -t /Inbound/jimtest.txt
debug1: channel 0: free: client-session, nchannels 1
debug1: fd 0 clearing O_NONBLOCK
debug1: fd 1 clearing O_NONBLOCK
debug1: fd 2 clearing O_NONBLOCK
debug1: Transferred: stdin 0, stdout 0, stderr 0 bytes in 0.1 seconds
debug1: Bytes per second: stdin 0.0, stdout 0.0, stderr 0.0
debug1: Exit status -1
lost connection

Any thoughts. I want to determine if the problem is on my side or theirs. Thank you.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The UNIX and Linux Forums

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Should You Buy RSA Insurance Group Today?

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By Royston Wild, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — Shares in RSA Insurance Group  took a battering in February, collapsing from a 19-month high above 136 pence following the release of shocking results for last year, and are currently trading around 116 pence.

Profit slide continued last year
RSA announced last month that its combined operating ratio last year came in at 95.4%, up from 94.9% in 2011 and pushing operating profit 6% lower to 684 million pounds. The company has now posted heavy double-digit profit declines in four of the past five years.

And I expect the insurer to experience more pain moving forwards, squeezed by a backdrop of increased insurance rate competitiveness and continued difficulties in the global economic recovery.

Rising operational and claim costs look set to pressure RSA, and Investec expects claims costs from the U.K. — responsible for 35% of total premiums — to rise around 19% in 2013. This is partly due to the recent Simmons v Castle case, which is set to add 10% to general damage costs from 1 April onwards.

Dividend takes a pasting
RSA‘s poor performance in recent years saw it slash its full-year dividend in 2012, from 9.2 pence per share in 2011 to 7.3 pence. A final dividend of 3.9 pence was down from 5.8 pence in the previous year, and the insurer expects to cut its interim payment by a similar percentage this year.

The company has elected to rebase the dividend to invest in growth opportunities and maintain a progressive policy further out. And analysts expect further cutbacks ahead, with 2013’s full-year dividend expected to fall 14% to 6.3 pence, before rising a modest 3% to 6.5 pence next year.

Despite recent dividend scalebacks, forecast yields are still expected to remain north of the 3.5% FTSE 100 average — the yield for this year is expected to come in at 5.4% before rising to 5.6% in 2014. As well, these also come attached with decent coverage of 1.9 times and 2 times for this year and next.

Earnings expected to bounce following 2012 collapse
Following the colossal 20% drop in earnings per share (EPS) last year, to 9.5 pence, City forecasters expect growth to snap 26% higher to 12 pence in 2013. EPS is then predicted to crawl 1% higher to 13.1 pence.

RSA currently trades on a P/E ratio of 9.6 and 8.9 for 2013 and 2014 respectively, providing a discount to a forward earnings multiple of 10.4 for the broader non-life insurance sector.

However, I think that the potential for further heavy dividend cuts should prompt investors to seek more secure payout opportunities elsewhere, particularly as RSA is likely to experience escalating earnings turmoil in the medium term at least.

Bolster your investment income with the Fool
Indeed, there are plenty of other FTSE 100 winners available to really jump start your investment income. So check out this brand new and exclusive report covering a multitude of other premium payers right now.

Our “5 Dividend Winners to Retire On” wealth report …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Linux

Error in UNIX script

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By sourabh.chhabra

When i run a script in linux. It shows the following error.

‘icsftpagent.sh: line 114: syntax error near unexpected token `’icsftpagent.sh: line 114: `Nicsftp() The script is as follows.

#!/bin/bash
#### Copyright Notice:
####
#### Copyright (c) 2007 Network Intelligence Corporation
####
#### Warning: This computer program is protected by copyright law and
#### international treaties. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution
#### of this program, or any portion of it, may result in severe civil
#### and criminal penalties, and will be prosecuted to the maximum
#### extent possible under the law.
####
#### RSA, The Security Division of EMC – Automated FTP/SCP/SFTP Script v2.7.11
####
###################
####
#### Begin User configuration
####
##########
########
######
####
#SILENT MODE
#produce no output to the console;
#set this to true when running from cron
#to reduce emails sent to root.
SILENT=true
# Have the Solaris POSIX compliant binaries first in the path.
# The /usr/bin directory in Solaris doesn’t have POSIX compliant
# binaries. This is particularly a problem for the awk command we are
# using. (ECE-138)
#PATH=/usr/xpg6/bin:/usr/xpg4/bin:/usr/css/bin:$PATH
## Enter the hostname/IP address of the enVision machine to which you want to
## send the data files
ENVISION=192.168.1.20
## Enter the directories where the data files, which you need to send, exist. Separate
## multiple directories with a colon (:). This script must have read permissions
## to the directories.
## Example for multiple folders DATA_DIRECTORY=/var/log/:/var/log/audit
DATA_DIRECTORY=/var/log/
## The directory on the enVision box where the files should be written to. This directory
## is relative to the enVision/ftp_files directory. If the directory name contains a
## space it will need to be double escaped. For example, if the directory name is
## “name with spaces”, the variable needs to be set to “name with spaces”.
ENVISION_DIRECTORY=Squid_192.168.1.63
## The script keeps its persistent information in a directory. The
## script must have read and write permissions to this directory.
NIC_DIRECTORY=/usr/local/nic
## TRANSFER_METHOD=SFTP/SCP/FTP
## Select the method used to transfer the files to enVision. SFTP is recommended.
## valid options are FTP, SFTP and SCP
TRANSFER_METHOD=SFTP
## Enter a username (ftp default: anonymous; SFTP/SCP default: nic_sshd)
USERNAME=nic_sshd
## Enter a password (anonymous connections accept any password)
PASSWORD=RSAlab@12345
## Enter the identity/private key file for the user specified above user
## default is $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa
IDENTITY=~/.ssh/id_rsa
## Enter the file matching specification. “*” will send any files in the directory. Separate
## multiple fielnames with a colon (:).
## Example for multiple files::
## …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The UNIX and Linux Forums

Linux

UNIX Error in Script

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By sourabh.chhabra

When i run a script in linux. It shows the following error.
‘icsftpagent.sh: line 114: syntax error near unexpected token `
‘icsftpagent.sh: line 114: `Nicsftp()

My Script is as follows:
#!/bin/bash
#### Copyright Notice:
####
#### Copyright (c) 2007 Network Intelligence Corporation
####
#### Warning: This computer program is protected by copyright law and
#### international treaties. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution
#### of this program, or any portion of it, may result in severe civil
#### and criminal penalties, and will be prosecuted to the maximum
#### extent possible under the law.
####
#### RSA, The Security Division of EMC – Automated FTP/SCP/SFTP Script v2.7.11
####
###################
####
#### Begin User configuration
####
##########
########
######
####
#SILENT MODE
#produce no output to the console;
#set this to true when running from cron
#to reduce emails sent to root.
SILENT=true
# Have the Solaris POSIX compliant binaries first in the path.
# The /usr/bin directory in Solaris doesn’t have POSIX compliant
# binaries. This is particularly a problem for the awk command we are
# using. (ECE-138)
#PATH=/usr/xpg6/bin:/usr/xpg4/bin:/usr/css/bin:$PATH
## Enter the hostname/IP address of the enVision machine to which you want to
## send the data files
ENVISION=192.168.1.20
## Enter the directories where the data files, which you need to send, exist. Separate
## multiple directories with a colon (:). This script must have read permissions
## to the directories.
## Example for multiple folders DATA_DIRECTORY=/var/log/:/var/log/audit
DATA_DIRECTORY=/var/log/
## The directory on the enVision box where the files should be written to. This directory
## is relative to the enVision/ftp_files directory. If the directory name contains a
## space it will need to be double escaped. For example, if the directory name is
## “name with spaces”, the variable needs to be set to “name with spaces”.
ENVISION_DIRECTORY=Squid_192.168.1.63
## The script keeps its persistent information in a directory. The
## script must have read and write permissions to this directory.
NIC_DIRECTORY=/usr/local/nic
## TRANSFER_METHOD=SFTP/SCP/FTP
## Select the method used to transfer the files to enVision. SFTP is recommended.
## valid options are FTP, SFTP and SCP
TRANSFER_METHOD=SFTP
## Enter a username (ftp default: anonymous; SFTP/SCP default: nic_sshd)
USERNAME=nic_sshd
## Enter a password (anonymous connections accept any password)
PASSWORD=RSAlab@12345
## Enter the identity/private key file for the user specified above user
## default is $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa
IDENTITY=~/.ssh/id_rsa
## Enter the file matching specification. “*” will send any files in the directory. Separate
## multiple fielnames with a colon (:).
## Example for multiple files::
## FILESPEC=*.log:xyz.log …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The UNIX and Linux Forums

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The Beginners' Portfolio Buys Aviva

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By Alan Oscroft, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — This article is the latest in a series that aims to help novice investors with the stock market. To enjoy past articles in the series, please visit our full archive.

It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally decided on the last of the ten shares to take its exalted place in the Fool’s Beginners’ Portfolio. After deciding that an insurer could offer us good prospects while adding a bit of diversity, the choice was between RSA Insurance Group  and Aviva  , both of which have slashed their dividends recently and have seen their share prices falling.

The choice is Aviva.

We bought 151 shares at a price at 321.4 pence, which commission and stamp duty took to a total cost of 497.71 pounds.

Here’s what the final purchase tally looks like, with all ten portfolio places filled:

Company Buy Price Share Cost Charges Total Cost
Vodafone 168.5p £487.07 £12.44 £499.51
Tesco 305.5p £485.80 £12.43 £498.23
GlaxoSmithKline 1,440.5p £489.77 £12.45 £502.22
Persimmon 617.9p £488.11 £12.44 £500.55
Blinkx 36.94p £487.24 £12.44 £499.68
BP 434.5p £486.58 £12.43 £499.01
Rio Tinto 3,048.4p £487.74 £12.44 £500.18
BAE Systems 332.3p £485.16 £12.43 £497.59
Apple $458.40 £588.48 £17.50 £605.98
Aviva 321.4p £458.28 £12.43 £497.71
Total   £4,944.23 £129.43 £5,100.66

We’ve invested 100 pounds more than our original target of 5,000 pounds simply because that’s what it took to get hold of two Apple shares. I could have reduced the investment in Aviva to compensate, but I really didn’t want to drop the final slice as low as 400 pounds.

Why Aviva?
Here are some of the valuation fundamentals of our two insurance candidates:

Company Price Historic EPS Historic 
Div, Yield		 Forecast EPS Forecast
Div. Yield		 Forward P/E
RSA 116p 9.5p 5.8% 12.5p 6.3% 9.3
Aviva 321p -15.2p 5.1% 45.7p 6.6% 7.0

On these figures, both look cheap to me, but I think Aviva shareholders have been more shaken by the dividend cut and the shares have been oversold a little more fiercely. But really, I think I’d be happy to hold either of these companies (and I have owned RSA shares in the past, myself).

So the portfolio is now full, and I won’t be investing in any new companies unless I choose to sell one of the existing holdings. And I’ll only do that if I believe a share has become overvalued or there’s a significantly better place for the money. Knowing when to sell is my weakest point, so that will be a challenge for me.

Valuation update
I’ll do a valuation update in due course, but I think a quick mention of Vodafone  is in order. As I wrote recently, I believe Vodafone is one of those great long-term investments that’s ideal for an ISA.

Though it’s still early days, Vodafone has already done well for the portfolio. Since I kicked off the series by buying the shares at 168.5 pence apiece in May 2012, we’re up 11.7% (excluding dividends) based on the current bid price of 188.3 pence.

Finally, my idea of the kind of shares that should make up the core of a beginner’s portfolio is the same as my choice for an ISA, or a retirement portfolio — or in fact, any portfolio. I’d start with good, strong companies that should stand the test of time and potentially reward you for decades.

Not surprisingly, the Fool’s top analysts think similarly, and they have just put together a special report detailing five blue-chip shares that I think would be ideal for anyone at the start of their investing …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Science & Technology

Google vision of password rings heard at security event

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(Phys.org) —Google finds much appeal in gaining the distinction of leading the way toward a future where USB sticks and rings can replace traditional passwords. The idea of killing off passwords has been an attractive one at Google for some time. This year, remarks by a Google engineer indicate Google is still taking the challenge seriously. Speaking at the recent RSA security conference in San Francisco, Google principal engineer, Mayank Upadhyay commented about Google’s interest in a time when password obligations can be dumped and replaced with secure authentication tokens. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Phys.org

Movies & TV

Ridley Scott Wants More Sci-Fi

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It looks like Ridley Scott‘s return to science fiction is still in full force. The filmmaker’s Ridley Scott and Associates have announced that they will be partnering with Machinima to produce 12 sci-fi short films for distribution online.

“RSA has always been at the forefront of creating innovative work,” said Scott. “With new media transforming the way audiences connect with films and filmmakers… it’s a tremendous opportunity for pushing the creative boundaries for both our filmmakers and the audience.”

According to the release, Scott will executive produce the project, with select directors from his company helming the individual shorts.

Continue reading…

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Movies

News, Politics, Government

Why Security without Usability Leads to Failure

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By Dan Woods, Contributor

At the RSA conference in late February, we got the word, again, that the Internet is indeed a bad, bad neighborhood. It is no longer populated by thugs with the equivalent of digital spray paint seeking to vandalize. The spammers and those seeking to perpetrate financial fraud are still with us. But, now the discussion has turned to international spies, uniform wearing cyber-warriors, and the PhD-trained criminals, straight out of a Bond movie script. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Aviva, RSA Insurance Group, and the Dividend Dilemma

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By Prabhat Sakya, The Motley Fool

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LONDON — Are you an investor in Aviva   or RSA Group ? How are you feeling now? Shaken? Exasperated? Let down?

I share your concerns. As a shareholder in both these companies, it has been a torrid few weeks. When you are hit by such bad news, the stock market can seem a very lonely place. You feel that everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong. You feel as if you paid out your bet on a “sure thing,” only for it to fall at the first hurdle. And you know that the companies are now prey to shorters who could pounce at any sign of a slip.

If the whole premise of investing in a company is the dividend yield, a reduction in that yield surely negates that premise.

A dilemma for investors, and for companies
So, if the dividends of the highest-yielding companies are likely to be reduced, should we avoid seeking out and investing in the highest-yielding companies altogether? I call this “the dividend dilemma.”

And, alongside this is a second dilemma: Should companies make every effort to sustain high dividends, even if this is costly to the company? After all, wouldn’t any company want to avoid the recent share price falls of Aviva and RSA, and the resultant embarrassment and shareholder ire?

My answer to these questions is simple: First and last, we need to assess the fundamentals. There is no point in maintaining a high dividend yield if it is unsustainable. You should never check the dividend yield to the exclusion of everything else. Instead, you need to assess the broad range of fundamentals, from price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio and net debt to price-to-book value.

Take a contrarian view
Take Aviva: The company is on a forward P/E ratio of 6.9, the debt-to-equity ratio is 26%, and it is trading below book value. Despite all the current tumult, that is still as cheap as chips. What’s more, with a new chief executive in place, these days, you almost expect some “kitchen sinking” in his first set of results. Good contrarians have already figured out that this is the time to buy Aviva, not sell.

Next, take RSA: This is on a forward P/E ratio of 10 — not so stunningly cheap, but the company has better growth prospects. Again, this remains a good investment. For both companies, the reduced dividends are still substantial, they are now more sustainable, and they are still significantly higher than the FTSE 100 average. Thinking long term, the dividend reduction is actually to the benefit of the company and its shareholders.

It is easy to lose patience with these companies. But if shareholders are thinking of selling out and washing their hands of these businesses, my view is that these companies will come back strongly from this. My message to these shareholders is simple and it is clear, and is perhaps the most important lesson I have ever learnt in investing: Just. Hold. Your. Nerve.

I think both Aviva and RSA are shares that …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The Men and Women Who Run Standard Life

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By Tony Reading, The Motley Fool

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LONDON — Management can make all the difference to a company’s success and, thus, its share price.

The best companies are those run by talented and experienced leaders with strong vested interests in the success of the business, held in check by a board with sound financial and business acumen. Some of the worst investments to hold are those run by executives collecting fat rewards as the underlying business goes to pot.

In this series, I’m assessing the boardrooms of companies within the FTSE 100. I hope to separate the management teams that are worth following from those that are not. Today, I am looking at Standard Life , the life assurer which is bucking the trend with a special dividend.

Here are the key directors:

Director Position
Gerry Grimstone (non-exec) Chairman
David Nich Chief Executive
Jackie Hunt Finance Director
Keith Skeoch Executive Director

Gerry Grimstone has been chairman since 2007, the year after the former mutual society was floated, but had been a board member since 2003. He knows something about public-to-private ownership transfers, as a former civil servant in the Treasury, who was heavily involved in the early privatisations of the 1980s, such as British Airways. That led to a career in investment banking with Schroders, including vice-chairmanship of its global investment banking activities.

Accountant, not actuary
David Nish’s involvement with Standard Life is also longer than his tenure in the top job. He had been appointed finance director in November 2006, shortly after demutualisation. He was promoted to the CEO role in 2010 on the retirement of Sir Sandy Crombie, who had worked at Standard Life throughout his career. Previously, Mr. Nish was finance director of Scottish Power, having qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Nish has been instrumental in revitalising Standard Life‘s staid culture and executing its “asset light” strategy, refocusing the business as a seller of savings and pension products rather than a traditional life assurer. Under his leadership, Standard Life‘s shares have risen by 85%, far above the FTSE, and even outperforming the mighty Prudential.

Jackie Hunt stepped up from the role of deputy finance director on Mr. Nish’s promotion. She joined the company in 2009, after various finance roles with RSA and Aviva, having worked as an accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte.

Economist
Keith Skeoch runs the investment arm of Standard Life. He has been a director since flotation, and was a potential internal candidate for the CEO‘s role. He joined Standard Life in 2009, after 20 years with brokers James Capel, including the role of chief economist.

Standard Life‘s eight non-execs have a broad spread of backgrounds.

I analyse management teams from five different angles to help work out a verdict. Here’s my assessment:

1. Reputation. Management CVs and track record.

Very good.

 Score 4/5
2. Performance. Success at the company.

Outperformed rivals.

 Score 4/5
3. Board Composition. Skills, experience, balance

Strong exec team.

 Score 4/5
4. Remuneration. Fairness of pay, link to performance.

On the high side, but not controversial.

 Score 3/5
5. Directors’ Holdings, compared to their pay.

Substantial.

 Score 4/5

Overall, Standard Life scores 19 out of 25, a very good result. The company …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

3 More FTSE 100 Dividends Lifted This Week

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By Alan Oscroft, The Motley Fool

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LONDON — The FTSE 100 rose another 0.18% today to close at 6,439 points after bouncing as high as 6,460 earlier in the day — just a point short of the 52-week intraday high of 6,461 it set yesterday. The market has been strengthened by a series of upbeat company results this week, with a number of companies paying out bigger dividends.

Against the FTSE‘s average dividend yield of about 3%, here are some companies from the top tier that have all boosted their payouts this week.

Xstrata
Xstrata and Glencore , the two partners in the ongoing FTSE 100 megamerger, both released annual results on Tuesday — and both raised their full-year dividends. Xstrata’s dividend was boosted by 14% to $0.455 per share after the miner reported pre-exceptional earnings per share of $1.24. And Glencore, after revealing EPS of $0.44, announced a $0.1575 per-share dividend, up 5%.

Next year, of course, we should be seeing combined results and a combined dividend. The final steps in the merger have been delayed, but it should all be done and dusted by April 16. Xstrata shares are currently trading at 1,150 pence, with Glencore at 385 pence.

Legal & General
Legal & General Group raised its annual dividend on Wednesday by 20% to 7.65 pence per share, up from 6.4 pence in 2011. That represents a yield of 4.7% at a share price of 164 pence — and after fellow insurers RSA and Aviva cut their final dividends, Legal & General’s is pretty much in line with the sector.

Chief executive Nigel Wilson said, “Our 20% increase in dividend is underpinned by 12% EPS growth and strong cash flow.” Current forecasts suggest a further dividend rise of 7% to 8.2 pence per share for 2013.

Melrose
Final results from Melrose Industries on Wednesday allowed the manufacturing turnaround specialist to lift its full-year dividend by 2.7% to 7.6 pence per share. On today’s 260 pence share price, that’s a yield of 2.9%, which is perhaps not a payout that income investors would dream of, but the share price has quadrupled since early 2009.

Melrose, which buys up struggling companies and revamps them, has been growing its earnings and dividends for years, and forecasts suggest more of the same for 2013 and 2014.

Dividend rises like these three are always welcome, and companies that manage steady payouts form the cornerstones of many a portfolio. Whether you’re investing for income or growth, good old cash is always welcome. And that’s why I recommend the brand-new Fool report “The Motley Fool’s Top Income Share For 2013,” in which our top analysts identify a share they believe will provide handsome dividend income for years to come. But it will only be available for a limited period, so click here to get your copy today.

The article 3 More FTSE 100 Dividends Lifted This Week originally appeared on Fool.com.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The Beginners' Portfolio Ponders Buying an Insurer

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By Alan Oscroft, The Motley Fool

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LONDON — This article is the latest in a series that aims to help novice investors with the stock market. To enjoy past articles in the series, please visit our full archive.

A lot of investors go for diversification, and it can make a lot of sense; if one sector goes through a bad patch, being diversified into others can help offset the pain. But at the same time, diversifying for the sake of it can be a bad move.

But there’s one sector that is very much in the throes of a recovery, and that’s finance — and we haven’t considered it so far. But what possibilities are there? Well, I’ve been eyeing up a couple of giants in the insurance sector, which really hasn’t been showing much in the way of gains yet…

Aviva
Aviva   has results coming out on Thursday, and the City is currently expecting a dividend yield of 7.3% for the year to December 2012 based on the current share price of 349 pence. But earnings forecasts are all over the place, with individual analysts guessing at wildly different figures, so it’s anybody’s guess whether such a payout would be covered.

Asset valuations are pretty important as well, so I’ve added two more figures to our table below, with entries just for the two insurers. NAV is net asset value per share — the book value of all the company’s assets divided by the number of shares in issue. PBV, or price to book value, is the share price divided by the NAV.

From this, we can see that Aviva shares trade for less than their net asset value, which is a good sign, but we’ll need to watch out for that come results time.

RSA
The other is RSA Insurance Group , whose shares shares trade in excess of asset value at the moment — not outrageously so, but RSA is in second place to Aviva on that measure.

RSA has already brought us full-year results — and slashed its final dividend by a third! And the share price slumped by 15% in response. But the overall full-year yield is still a nice 5.8%, based on today’s price of 120p.

The fear, or course, is that Aviva will follow suit and cut its dividend, and the current share price does seem to factor in some of that possibility. We’ll know later this week.

Meanwhile, here’s our updated watchlist, with the two new entries — and I’ve sorted it into alphabetical order this time:

Company Market Cap Price Forward P/E NAV PBV Forward Dividend
Aviva £10.5 bn 349p 8.2 442p 0.8 7.3%
Daisy Group £286m 105p 8.1     1.3%
GKN £4.40bn 276p 10.0     3%
Ricardo £204m 401p 11.9     3.4%
RSA £4.29bn 120p 9.5 108p 1.1 6.2%
Trinity Mirror £292m 118p 3.9     0%
TUI Travel £3.55bn 310p 11.5     4%
Unilever £34.1bn 2,664p 18.7     3.2%
United Utilities £5.04bn 745p 18.3     4.6%
WS Atkins £892m 870p 11.4     3.5%

Since our last look in January, quite a few have moved — mostly upward!

What of the rest?
Out of the list, I’ve definitely lost interest in Unilever , with the shares having risen 9.7% since we last looked. On a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of nearly 19 now, it seems fully valued to me. And that 3.2% dividend is nothing to shout about, so I can only …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance